1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a sealing apparatus and methods that facilitate percutaneous access of surgical instruments into a patient's body, and more particularly, to a sealing apparatus that movably accommodates instrumentation while maintaining a gas and/or fluid tight seal therewith.
2. Background of Related Art
Minimally invasive and laparoscopic procedures generally require that any instrumentation inserted into the body is sealed, i.e., provisions must be made to ensure that gases and/or fluids do not enter or exit the body through an endoscopic incision, such as, for example, in surgical procedures having the surgical region insufflated. For such procedures, the introduction of a tube into certain anatomical cavities, such as the abdominal cavity, is usually accomplished by use of a system incorporating a trocar and cannula assembly. Since the cannula is in direct communication with the internal portion of the seal assembly, insertion of the cannula into an opening in the patient's body to reach the inner abdominal cavity should be adapted to maintain a fluid tight interface between the abdominal cavity and the outside atmosphere. In view of the need to maintain the atmospheric integrity of the inner area of the cavity, a seal assembly for a cannula which permits introduction of a wide range of surgical instrumentation and maintains the atmospheric integrity of the inner area of the cavity is desirable. In this regard, there have been a number of attempts in the prior art to provide such sealing requirements. A difficulty encountered is the capability of accommodating the wide range of instrumentation and the angle and orientation from which the instrumentation is introduced and ultimately used.